Science Current Events | Science News | Brightsurf.com
 
Email a Friend Send to a friend
Printer Friendly Print Blood vessel cells are instructed to form tube-like structures

Blood vessel cells are instructed to form tube-like structures

August 29, 2008

How do blood vessel cells understand that they should organise themselves in tubes and not in layers? A research group from Uppsala University shows for the first time that a special type of "instructor" molecule is needed to accomplish this. These findings, published in the scientific journal Blood, might be an important step towards using stem cells to build new organs.

In order for a body to develop and function the cells in the body must be able to organise themselves in relation to each other. The way in which cells are arranged depends on the organ where they are located. Blood vessel cells need to form three-dimensional, tube-like structures that can transport blood. But how do blood vessel cells know that they should do that? An important part of the communication between cells and their environment is the use of growth factors. These are proteins that bind to receptors on the surface of the cell that receives the information. When the receptor in turn forms a complex with other proteins, on the inside of the cell, the read-out from the DNA can be altered. The information has "arrived".




VEGF (vascular endothelial growth factor) is a family of closely related growth factors that control blood vessel cells throughout life. Blood vessel development in the foetus as well as later in life, for example during wound healing, is regulated by VEGF. In the present study the research group has examined how VEGF can instruct blood vessel cells to arrange themselves into a tube. The answer is that some variants of VEGF have the ability to attract another protein, an instructor molecule, which is joined together with VEGF and its reeptor. The combination of instructor molecule, VEGF and receptor results in that a specific signal is sent inside the blood vessel cells, making them form a tube. Without the instructor molecule the cells line up next to each other, in a layer.

These results may become very useful. Today stem cells are used to create new cells, organs and even tissues, that in the future might be used to for transplantation instead of donated organs. If a patient's own stem cells are used the problem with organ rejection is avoided. But so far there has been a challenge to create three-dimensional structures from stem cells.

Our contribution can make it possible to create blood vessels from stem cells and to direct them to form a tube instead of a layer. Perhaps this knowledge can be transferred to the formation of other tube-like structures in the body, such as the lung and intestines. The perspectives for the future are very exciting, says Lena Claesson-Welsh, who has led the study.

Uppsala University



Related Blood Vessel Current Events and Blood Vessel News Articles Blood Vessel Current Events and Blood Vessel News RSS Blood Vessel Current Events and Blood Vessel News RSS
Portable CT increases chance of stroke survival and recovery
New research has found that the availability of a portable eight-slice computed tomography (CT) scanner in an emergency room can significantly increase the number of stroke victims who receive a potentially life-saving treatment.

Mini heart attacks lessen damage from major ones
Researchers have discovered one potential mechanism by which briefly cutting off, then restoring, blood flow to arteries prior to a heart attack lessens the damage caused, according to a study published today in the journal Cardiovascular Research.

Researchers identify how binge drinking may drive heart disease
As the holidays arrive, a group of researchers has identified the precise mechanisms by which binge drinking contributes to clogs in arteries that lead to heart attack and stroke, according to a study published today in the journal Atherosclerosis.

Mechanisms of cardiovascular disease and cancer give clues to new therapies
Cardiovascular conditions leading to heart attacks and strokes are treated quite separately from common cancers of the prostate, breast or lung, but now turn out to involve some of the same critical mechanisms at the molecular level.

Melatonin may save eyesight in inflammatory disease
Current research suggests that melatonin therapy may help treat uveitis, a common inflammatory eye disease. The related report by Sande et al., "Therapeutic Effect of Melatonin in Experimental Uveitis," appears in the December issue of The American Journal of Pathology.

OHSU Knight Cancer Institute researcher: study may result in more targeted drugs for GIST
According to Oregon Health & Science University Knight Cancer Institute researchers, there is strong evidence that patients can have varying clinical responses to medications depending on the specific makeup of their cancer.

Battling bacteria in the blood: Researchers tackle deadly infections
It's a leading cause of death, but no one knows for sure how and why it happens. It's a major source of health care costs, adding days or weeks to the hospital stays and lost work time of millions of people. But no one fully understands how best to fight it.

Cancer drugs my build and not tear down blood vessels
Scientists have thought that one way to foil a tumor from generating blood vessels to feed its growth - a process called angiogenesis - was by creating drugs aimed at stopping a key vessel growth-promoting protein. But now the opposite seems to be true.

Stem cell therapies for heart disease -- 1 step closer
New research from the University of Bristol brings stem cell therapies for heart disease one step closer. The findings reveal that our bodies' ability to respond to an internal 'mayday' signal may hold the key to success for long-awaited regenerative medicine.

Simple chemical procedure augments therapeutic potential of stem cells
Adult stem cells resemble couch potatoes if they hang out and divide in a dish for too long. They get fat and lose key surface proteins, which interferes with their movement and reduces their therapeutic potential. Now, via a simple chemical procedure, researchers have found a way to get these cells off the couch and over to their therapeutic target.
More Blood Vessel Current Events and Blood Vessel News Articles


Inflammatory Diseases of Blood Vessels
by Gary S. Hoffman, Cornelia M. Weyand

Second author, Cornelia M. Weyand, is with Mayo Clinic and Foundation, Rochester, MN. Comprehensive overview of the science and clinical consequences of vascular inflammation in health and disease. Covers basic topics of interest to scientists and clinicians. Discusses functions of the extracellular matrix, cytokine expression in vasculitis, diagnosis, and...



Genes and Disease - The Heart and Blood Vessels
by NIH

A short article on diseases of the heart and blood...



The Fluid Mechanics of Large Blood Vessels (Cambridge Monographs on Mechanics)
by T. J. Pedley

The analysis of the circulation of the blood is one of the most important areas of fluid mechanics research, with far-reaching medical and physiological...

Researchers successfully grow functional blood vessels in lab that simulate those found in human body.: An article from: Transplant News

This digital document is an article from Transplant News, published by Transplant Communications, Inc. on May 14, 1999. The length of the article is 420 words. The page length shown above is based on a typical 300-word page. The article is delivered in HTML format and is available in your Amazon.com Digital Locker immediately after purchase. You can view it with any web browser.Citation...



Nervous Control of Blood Vessels (The Autonomic Nervous System)
by Terence Bennett

This book is unique in bringing together up-to-date accounts of the endothelial, neuronal and humoral factors influencing vascular smooth muscle tone, and in presenting integrated accounts of how such mechanisms operate in the control of the vasculature of the major organ systems. This approach will highlight the value of future research directed at the interface of molecular biology and in vivo...

Revealing the origins of blood vessels.: An article from: Medical Update
by Eric Schoch

This digital document is an article from Medical Update, published by Benjamin Franklin Literary & Medical Society, Inc. on June 1, 2004. The length of the article is 670 words. The page length shown above is based on a typical 300-word page. The article is delivered in HTML format and is available in your Amazon.com Digital Locker immediately after purchase. You can view it with any web...

The Blood Vessels of The Brain in 3-D, and A Synopsis of Cerebrovascular Anatomy and Clinical Syndromes
by m. d. Harry A Kaplan

The Structure and function of the capillary system in the gingiva in man: Development of a stereophotogrammetric method and its application for study of ... blood vessels in vivo (Supplementum ; v. 26)
by Gösta Forsslund

The Surgical Clinics of North America: April 1948- Blood Vessel Surgery
by The Surgical Clinics of North America

Diseases of the Heart and Blood Vessels: Nomenclature and Criteria for Diagnosis
by Charles E. Kossmann

© 2008 BrightSurf.com